Valve



Feb; 23, 1943- w. v. sMlvTH ETAL y 2,312,290

VALVE Filed Nov. 16.` 1940 |i| il mmm" j @5&7 Q

Patented Feb. 23, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE amazed vALvE Watt v. smith, chicago, anarreaeritkln, ventbn, Clarendon Hills, Ill., assig'no'rsjjto Crane' Co.; Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application November 16, 1040, Sherial No. 305,912

2 Claims".y

Our invention relates to a swing checkl valve construction and, more particularly, to a flexible and resilient means for joining the closure mem-Y ber onto a suitable hinged supported member within its casing.

It has been determined that for best performance the closure member of a swing check valve should be non-rigidly attached to its operating orsupporting member in order that the respec-, tive bearing surfacesl of the closure member and ofthe body seat may contact one another throughout their circumference so as to produce a fluid-tight seal. The need for such a flexible means for self-alignment of the seating surfaces is particularly important in check valves in which the only force utilizable to press the seating surfaces together is the fluid pressure Within the line, The usual method of attaining the desired flexible condition has been merely tok make the hinge-disc connection a loose fit. Due tov this necessary form of construction, excessive `vWear has usually occurred atY the junction of the hinge and the body and at the connection between the disc and the hinge. objectionable wear also has occurred' at the valve seating surfaces dueto the;A severeV shock of impact which takes place and` alsodue' to the momentary vibration resulting vvhenY the movement ofthe disc andthe hinge is suddenly arrested' by their unyielding contact With-theV valve seat when the valve is closed. Inf addition, wear' at the' places mentioned alsov occurs due to the suddent contact of the closure member with the casing'vor body itself when the valve is opened in the normal coursevof operation.

Manufacturers of swing check'valve's have doneD a great deal of experimentation over a periodici;r

several decades in attemptingY to improve the performance of valves of' this type *by* making`- hingeedisc connections that would minimize the deleterious effects of the above referred-to shock and'vbr'ation on thevalve operating parts. HOW- eve'r no one, to our knowledge based upon ex*- haustive test results, hasfsucceed'ed in accomplishing'th'e` desired result tothe degree which We have attained'. Whereas frequent attempts in the past'have'been made to solve this problem by all kinds of rigid or'loose, non-resilient dischinge connections, We recognized early in` the de velcpment ofvour valve'that such connections were ynot feasible from practical service standpoints.

For that'reason our Work was concentratedon the' development of a resilient, shock-absorbing` dischinge connection which would be practical-f tom'anufacture economically and yet would be tests were applied` to 6j swingcheck valves of t four Well known manufacturersl in the art, each valve having-the conventional non-resilient con.- nerction between the hinge and the disc. After 100,000 impact' operations', these valvesgwere leaking excessively and vvhennopenedV for inspection they were found tohave failed mechanicallygallthe threaded parts;v having ,fajllenout of place completely/:lor elsevhad loosened, and the seating Surfeees .were battered. eut ef Shape due te' the" misalignment caused by the aforesaid looseningv ofparts.VA The fourth valve was operated 85,000 times additionally. andwes .then ,found te` have failed inthe samemanner. Various resilient disc connection modificationsLusing rubber Wasl'iers on both sides of the hinge, were tried but their life, too, Wasv limited to about 100,000 operations due to qualitiesinherent in the rub-berused.y The results of these. tests lwith rubber washers pointed. te the` ,need fer e ,resilient member which. veel@l neeeheeee gite prepertiee V.lieder the constant andmsevere pounding inservice. Y Although the; Speeegerlilrie beekerthe dise Wee limited enel the Strengthen@ reslieeee'requirements 0f euch, deeireble reeilieetpmemeer .were quite high; it WeeY felled that ashore eel' Serine ef rectangular cross-section couldb'e made of the desiredgpropf eriesl edCOU @lee be lted ieee the available" Space 011 beth Sideeef ,the hineeetgtheeenten Accordingly a plnepaklfobjectof our invention is'lthevprovision'of a resilient-hinge-disc connectionI for la swing check lvalve 4employing la' metallic spring onv either one;` or both sides of* the'hinge to impart desired resiliency.

Other important advantages of the construction will become more readily apparent upon referring to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a sectional assembly view of one form of resilient disc-hinge connection applied to a conventional swing check valve.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modified form of construction.

Like numerals refer to like parts in the several views.

Broadly, the valve of our present invention may be representative of a number of types which are suitable for a wide variety of services. However, as shown in the drawing, we prefer to clis-V close our invention as it may be embodied in a valve of the swing check type in which the disc or closure member is mounted upon a hinge member, the latter being pivotally secured within the valve body or casing as hereinafter described in greater detail.

The valve body or casing generally designated I is of the usual type having a longitudinal through port or passageway 2 provided with a seat 3 for the disc or closure member 4. Preferably, but not necessarily, the seat 3 is made part of the flanged bushing 5 removably secured within the body I. It is apparent, of course, that the seat may also be made integral with the body I and therefore not necessarily removable. The ends of the body I are provided with the usual means for attaching the valve to a pipeline and for that purpose the flanges 6 are shown. Obviously, other means such as screw threads may be employed for the pipe connections if desired. The upper portion of the body I has the flanged opening 1 normally closed by the blind flange or cap 8 secured to the valve by a number of bolts or studs S. The hinge I0 having its upper end preferably connected to the shaft or pin II, the latter being mounted within the valve body transnected to a pipeline in which fluid is intermittently owing as in the exhaust from a reciprocating pump, air compressor or the like. Assume further that the check valve shown in Fig. 1 is connected into the outlet line of such a device for the purpose of allowing iiuid to flow away from the pump but not back to it. When fiuid is discharged from the pump it will fiow into the valve at 2| and the pressure against the face 22 of the disc 4 will cause it to swing open promptly (dotted position) and into abutment with the boss I3. Here the spring I4a comes into action, probably functioning to cushion the stoppage of the hinge IU whereby only the inertia of the closure member 4 must be suddenly absorbed by the threaded portion I2 and the boss I3; the inertia of the heavy verse to the run of the valve, carries the disc 4 which is attached to the lower or free end of the hinge I0. When the disc is in the open or iiowpermitting position, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, a portion of the hinge I0 extends upwardly into the opening 1 with the threaded or stud portion I2 of the disc abutting the boss I3, which is cast integral with the cap 8, thereby positioning the disc for automatic return to the seat 3 in the event of a reversal of fluid flow through the valve.

Referring now more particularly to the means for providing a resilient connection between the disc 4 and the hinge I0, the relatively short, rectangular cross-sectional coil springs Illa and I4b are fitted upon and surround the axial extension I5 of the disc and are compressed against both sides of the hinge I0 by means of the shouldering washer I6 and the nut I'I and the integral threaded portion I8 respectively. The aperture I9 in the hinge I0 is sufficiently greater in diameter than the extension I5 so that a loose iit results between the hinge and the disc, thus providing the limitedly pivotal movement necessary for the seating surfaces to align themselves in making aV fluid-tight seal. The nut I'I is locked removably onto the threaded portion I8 by means of the pin 2l) which is driven respectively through the nut I'I and threaded portion I8. In the modified form of construction shown in Fig. 2, a through bolt I2a may be used in place of the integral extension I5 with equally good results.

To facilitate an appreciation of our invention in its application to the operation of the check valve, let it be assumed that the valve is consupporting hinge I0 is presumably absorbed momentarily later over the time interval that it approaches the 'washer I6 in compressing the spring I4a. This follow-up of the hinge likewise probably serves to substantially minimize the vibration and wear which would be caused by the ordinary disc-hinge connection as it strikes the boss and bounces away several times in a vibratory manner before finally coming to rest under the influence of the lifting force of the flowing fluid. When the pump discharge stops, as when the pump piston comes to the end of its travel and the fluid comes to a standstill in the valve line, the disc drops suddenly to its seat. Now the spring I4?) comes into action, probably functioning similarly to relieve the seating surfaces of the shock which would have resulted if the disc and hinge had been stopped suddenly as a unit, and the spring I4b likewise serves to dampen vibration as already explained in connection with the spring I4a.

While a mechanism has been shown in which a portion of the disc directly abuts a stopping boss in the open position, thereby absorbing the kinetic energy of the hinge, our invention is equally applicable to such valves in which it is desired to cause the hinge or an extension thereof (instead of a portion of the disc) to abut against a suitable stopping boss, thereby absorbing the kinetic energy of the disc instead of the hinge. The use of one or the other will naturally depend on the type and size of valve, for in some the hinge may be of heavier construction and in others the disc may be heavier and it will therefore usually be desirable to stop the lighter member suddenly in order that the inertia of the heavier member may be suitably absorbed.

While we have illustrated our invention by a pair of coil springs, it is apparent also that there are numerous other specific resilient devices which may be used within the spirit of our invention. For example, under some conditions only one coil spring may be sufficient to make a commercially successful valve; or else the resilient means may assume the form of superposed rubber sheets instead of the coil springs shown; or fiat or dishshaped spring washers may be used; or a plurality of relatively small coil springs or spring washers disposed about the central part of the disc.

We have illustrated our invention as being used with a rotatable disc but we do not desire to be limited to this form of construction for our resilient means obviously will operate as successfully with a non-rotatable type.

As previously pointed out, our invention is capable of other modifications which will readily occur to those skilled in the art. The particular form of the various elements involved is not essential as it is obvious that variations could be used without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We intend, therefore, to be limited only to the extent dened by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A swing check valve comprising a casing, a closure member therefor, an extension on said closure member having a non-ilexible enlarged removable end portion, the rear surface portion of the said closure member and enlarged removable end portion having a fixed distance therebetween, a supporting member pivotally hinged to the casing at one end and having an aperture at the other end adapted to t loosely around the said extension, the said closure member being carried by the said supporting member so that the valve is opened by fluid flowing in one direction and closed by reverse ow, coil springs interposed in a normally compressed manner respectively between the closure member and the hinged supporting member and between the latter member and the enlarged end portion of said extension, whereby a shock-absorbing device is provided to cushion the sudden stoppage of the supporting member at either limit of its travel.

2. In a swing check valve, a casing having a seat, a closure member therefor, a medially situated extension on the face of the closure member opposite the seating surface thereof, said extension having a nonexible enlarged removable end flange in xed relation to the said closure member, an apertured hinged support for the said closure member fitted loosely upon the said extension between the closure member and end ange, the said closure member being carried by the said hinged support so that the valve is opened by fluid owing in one direction and closed by reverse ow, resilient means disposed in a normally compressed manner on both sides of the loosely tted hinged support, the said hinged support and the said resilient means substantially lling the space between said closure member and the enlarged end flange, whereby the said closure member and the said hinged support are held in predetermined resilient and limitedly pivotal spaced-apart relation and whereby at the seated and unseated limits of travel of the said closure member each of said resilient means serves to cushion the sudden stoppage of the hinged support.

WATT V. SMITH. FREDERICK R. VENTON. 

